First, does our bench suck? According to this: https://stats.nba.com/lineups/tradi...gular Season&TeamID=1610612757&sort=MIN&dir=1 our starting lineup of Lillard, McCollum, Harkless, Chief, Nurk played together in only 30 games, for an average of 14.7 minutes per game (if I read that right). That lineup had a +/- of +2.5 per game. But, our team average was only +2.6 per game, so the "bench" was only about +0.1 per game. Why? Not enough shooting? Mediocre D? Lack of talent? What do you think? I wanted to ask now before we add a vet of any sort to our roster, so we can see if whoever comes in actually addresses the problems our bench has.
Player development leading to overachieving....Stotts for two seasons has juggled bench players in and out of the rotation looking for a bench sparkplug...not easy with our rosters...I think that's a big part of why we're trying to beef it up now. Some are rookie walls...some are nerves....we have just fielded really young rosters looking for a core identity since Lamarcus left...still not there yet consistently. I don't think they planned on playing Collins that much until he showed he could hang...probably surprised everybody...when we had an established core in LA, Nico, Wes, Lillard and Rolo...we had guys like Kaman and Earl Watson on the bench.....trying to get back to that level only younger is a tough job
He doesn't take out the garbage at the bottom of the roster until forced, by economics. Most teams stock effort players there, who put pressure on the top 10 to try harder. Most GMs change the bottom 5 during the season, and certainly between seasons. Olshey lazily keeps each scrub for 3 years.
This sure didn’t help, but I think the real reason is that as a group they don’t force turnovers, they don’t get out on the break, and they don’t get easy baskets. Most benches, or bench players who thrive are really good at pushing the tempo. Stars can play in a slowed down style, and get away with it. So I guess I put it on coaching and the roster (no pg who pushes the pace and gets guys shots in transitions).
